What material is the very top layer made of? The one that the welted leather is stitched to?

I'm very tempted to do this, but I wanna be informed first...

The first shoe you posted in your initial post has a split welt. It has the appearance of standing up around the edge of the shoe. In the link above, the shoe looks like a flat welt or maybe a storm welt - it is much less prominent. I think doing this with a shoe with a regular "flat welt" would be doable with taking away from the appearance.

Having said that, there are other members of this forum with better knowledge of welts that can pipe in.

I searched the thread for posts on the Kudu Indy. There are numerous posts which all seem favorable. I ordered the 404 rugged Indy in Kudu to just to check the fit. But I like it. It looks like a great casual boot, something I can knock around in. Have opinions changed on this boot? Or is there another version of the Indy I should consider. This would be my first pair.

i went to the Alden store on Madison ave today asking if I can bring a pair of shoes to them to send to the factory for recraft because I'm too lazy to call Alden and mail the shoes myself. The store employee said yes but it will cost $10 for processing and shipping and the current turn around time is 3 months. He then suggested that maybe I should go to a local clobber that he recommended. I asked him if I do use the local guy, can I still go back to Alden for recrafting in the future and he said yes. Is the store employee accurate or is he trying to "politely" turn me away?

i went to the Alden store on Madison ave today asking if I can bring a pair of shoes to them to send to the factory for recraft because I'm too lazy to call Alden and mail the shoes myself. The store employee said yes but it will cost $10 for processing and shipping and the current turn around time is 3 months. He then suggested that maybe I should go to a local clobber that he recommended. I asked him if I do use the local guy, can I still go back to Alden for recrafting in the future and he said yes. Is the store employee accurate or is he trying to "politely" turn me away?

What would be the issue with doing this with a split welt? Are you suggesting that because of the darker leather strip viewable above the welt line, it will look unbalanced with the change in color of the sole trim?

The Whiskey Color Cordovan also appears to have a split welt, but retains the natural finish on the edge of the sole....

What would be the issue with doing this with a split welt? Are you suggesting that because of the darker leather strip viewable above the welt line, it will look unbalanced with the change in color of the sole trim?

The Whiskey Color Cordovan also appears to have a split welt, but retains the natural finish on the edge of the sole....

What would be the issue with doing this with a split welt? Are you suggesting that because of the darker leather strip viewable above the welt line, it will look unbalanced with the change in color of the sole trim?

The Whiskey Color Cordovan also appears to have a split welt, but retains the natural finish on the edge of the sole....

Apologies in advance for the confusion. My limited vocabulary--when it comes to cobblerology--is most likely to blame...

Yes, that is correct - but note that in the Whiskey shoe you linked to, the welt is a lighter color and matches the various shades of the edge trim nicely. In the case of the first shoe posted, the welt is quite dark and if you make the edge trim a very light color it will be a very bold look. Keep in mind Zippy's comment that Alden has done this before but it seems folks are hot or cold on the idea.

When I first learned about shoes, I spent a few months browsing the Leathersoul, Leffot and Shoemart web sites to see the various combinations and get a feel for what works and more importantly, why the various combinations worked nicely together. If you take many of those shoes (especially the Leathersoul models) and you change a single minor element in them, their look changes dramatically.

I searched the thread for posts on the Kudu Indy. There are numerous posts which all seem favorable. I ordered the 404 rugged Indy in Kudu to just to check the fit. But I like it. It looks like a great casual boot, something I can knock around in. Have opinions changed on this boot? Or is there another version of the Indy I should consider. This would be my first pair.

I searched the thread for posts on the Kudu Indy. There are numerous posts which all seem favorable. I ordered the 404 rugged Indy in Kudu to just to check the fit. But I like it. It looks like a great casual boot, something I can knock around in. Have opinions changed on this boot? Or is there another version of the Indy I should consider. This would be my first pair.

the 404's are great!! they were the first pair of shoes I ever put on that were comfortable right out of the box -

if you'd like another (better looking, imho) option, check out The Bureau's Alden Kudu boot: